By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent.

By submitting your personal information, you agree that TechTarget and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers.

You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

The competition invites girls to compete for a £9,000 sponsorship to help the winner through her first year at university, and the chance for paid work experience in the IT industry.

It was first launched to demonstrate the diverse careers women can have in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem), industries that Cooklin says require a new kind of people to evolve and cater to the general population’s needs.

Part of the competition requires girls aged between 16 and 18 to submit an essay explaining how technology could improve their life.

“We show what some of those jobs are,” says Cooklin, “and those jobs may not be coding jobs, they might be analyst jobs, media jobs, very creative jobs.

“A lot of them will require very good emotional intelligence, and that is something many women have in spades, so it plays to their strengths.”

“The people we need, the people who have strong project management skills and strong analyst skills – we want those people in the IT industry,” says Cooklin.

“So, yes, you need developers, you need coders, but there is a global market for those skills. Good behavioural skills and high emotional intelligence are much harder to find and actually a lot of that is what creates successful projects, high-performing teams – it isn’t just about the technical skills.”

Where the influence lies

Research undertaken by Network Rail in 2013 found that 64% of women aged 16 to 24 had never considered a career in IT.

But the IT industry needs skilled workers, and a diverse workforce means greater productivity and innovation, says Cooklin.

“Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, 38% of IT jobs were filled by women; that has now dropped to 16%,” she adds.

“I think diversity is very important in a business – it improves business performance.”

Cooklin highlights the importance of support and role models when young people are deciding what career to choose.

Read more about women in the IT industry

Meet the men who have mentored some of the leading women in tech to find out how men can help tackle the diversity gap in IT.

Recruitment agency Monster is launching a TechTalent Charter to encourage diversity in the IT industry through widespread adoption of best practice.

“My school’s ethos was very much ‘You are all highly intelligent women, you can go and do whatever career you want to do’,” says Cooklin. “I think that’s a very affirming, confidence-building environment to be in.

“That is part of the message I try to convey when I talk to young people. It’s ‘Hey, look what’s out there’ – we go through all the jobs you can have in the IT sector, creative and technical.”

Cooklin’s school gave five girls places on its computer science course, sparking her interest in the sector.

“I felt I’ve done pretty well in my career in IT,” she adds. “I have found it enjoyable, interesting, very challenging – and I wanted to spread the word.”

Returning to the industry

According to Network Rail’s research, the IT industry requires 22,500 new entrants each year from the education system.

But only 13% of the students taking IT degrees are female, and 10% of young women say industry stereotypes put them off an IT career.

“What I do know is there is a problem across all industries for women in their 30s and quite often there is choice between career and family,” she adds.

“They are weighing up different priorities and what they want to do. I’m not sure it’s specific to technology; I think it’s a broader point across a number of industries. I think it’s a women in careers problem.”

2 comments

Register

Login

Forgot your password?

Your password has been sent to:

By submitting you agree to receive email from TechTarget and its partners. If you reside outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Privacy

I believe that on a high performance team you can have all kinds of people, low or high emotional intelligence, different cultures, different ages/experience -- the KEY IS HAVING the RIGHT Manager, who can 'see' each member of the team and help them recognize their individual 'raison d'etre' then once they have firmed-up self respect and the balance that comes from confidence, then and only then can the manager help the team become truly synergetic. I say that even though the naivete of Agile would say 'no need for a manager, teams can be self-regulating'. Now THAT is naive and implausible esp if the teams are not small and working at a startup. The goals and focus of startup people are vastly different from the goals and focus of people working at a stable, established company, after all.